Ilene Martinez left France to return to the States, and her departure brings a touch of melancholy that this new album reinforces even more. During the Covid lockdowns, she wrote and composed quite a few songs, always with just guitar and voice. A musical interlude outside of time, outside of that strange period of enforced confinement. To write, compose, play, and make the songs live and bleed, to offer an ode to resilience and hope that resonated with artists and musicians during the pandemic. 

The result: 13 tracks of stripped-down, more jazzy Americana-folk, often melancholic, a sign that the return to the States was a call she could no longer resist or oppose. The strong emotion emanating from certain tracks reminds us of Neil Young’s ‘On the Beach’ or his French counterpart Eric Ter with his latest album, ‘Récidive’ (reviewed HERE). The guitar-voice duo from confinement was later enriched by the contribution of the exceptional accordionist Maxime Perrin, already present on Ilene’s previous album, ‘Reasons’ (reviewed HERE), as well as Olivier Cahours, a guitarist as talented as he is gifted, who has played with many people in the jazz world and collaborated with Maxime Perrin on a sublime album, ‘Esprit Libre’ (reviewed HERE). Ilene’s project not only took shape, but took flight, like a bird freed from the cage of confinement, leaving behind a feather as a memory or to mark its presence, that of a talent forced to stay confined, distant from the magical encounter with other musicians. 

The trio of Ilene, Maxime, and Olivier reworked Ilene’s songs, bringing in ideas and creativity, leaving space here and there for other guests to contribute. In this new album, a few notable guests appear, like clarinetist Samuel Thézé, who notably collaborated with Maxime Perrin on two superb albums, ‘Sessions 1’ and ‘Chemins de Traverse’ (reviewed HERE and HERE). A special guest who illuminates Ilene Martinez’s album with bursts of brilliance that elevate the tracks, just like the excellent trumpeter Mickael Gashe, who was featured on Elvis Costello’s 2020 album, ‘Hey Clockface’. Proof that Ilene and her companions had original (and brilliant) ideas for this album: you’ll hear Mickael not only play trumpet and flugelhorn but also a medieval instrument called the ‘serpent’, a wind instrument shaped like the reptile. Notably, the guests’ technical prowess never overshadows Ilene Martinez’s voice, and this is where the strength of these musicians lies, complementing each other in an exemplary way. As the icing on the cake, the production is impeccable, offering a perfect balance between the various instruments and Ilene’s voice. 

With ‘Plume,’ Ilene Martinez offers us an album full of surprises and songs that hit you right in the gut, and the heart. Because with Ilene, everything is full of poetry and sensitivity. An album both moving and smiling at the same time, essential, because there are albums where words are superfluous and for which only one word is enough, or only a tear can express the intensity of sensations felt while listening to the tracks. For this album, the right word has been found: “Indispensable!

Frankie Bluesy Pfeiffer
Chief editor – PARIS-MOVE

PARIS-MOVE, September 22nd 2024

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